Second Phase When Purple Clashed with Pink
by Calethos Verilain Blacksworth
Summary: The proposal has been made, but far be it from anyone to want them to be happy. When the Princess of the moon is kidnapped, it's up to Sailor Saturn to rescue her.
1. Proposal

After so long and so much begging, I have ceded to the demands of a friend. This piece of fan fiction was started about the start of November last year, and published a week later. Not even an entire week passed before I had called the piece finished and went on with life. Now, I am continuing "When Purple Clashes with Pink" because a friend begged me to, and I thought it might be good to come up with something new for a change.  
  
Calethos Verilain Blacksworth  
"When Purple Clashes with Pink"  
Chapter 5: Proposal  
Re-edited June 2nd, 2004  
  
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It was rather lonesome, being in the dining hall all by themselves without their husbands with them. The eight of them envied their queen. She had her husband attending the meal. But, they couldn't exactly complain, they were, after all, the best of friends with each other, and they hadn't gathered together in agreat many years as friends.  
  
Each face was pretty, something better than the average model could have hoped to present on a good day, perhaps faces to compete with supermodels even. Each had been successful in their career choices. Each woman had had their plans and dreams play to completion, and all they had to do was just sit back and enjoy the rest of their retirements. Of course, none of them had ever planned on retiring when they still looked beautiful and were graceful.  
  
The woman with the flowing blonde hair sipped the red substance from her glass and put it down on the table, then picked it up and sipped again. Her cheeks were already reddened, and one could tell that she was almost completely drunk, but it did not matter to anyone. The one with the bright blue hair would help the blonde to bed and would monitor the blonde if she needed to. That was simply her nature, and she was talented at what came to her naturally.  
  
The brunette looked from face to face, smiling politely, not knowing what really to say in the various conversations they were having about catching up. The raven-haired one stared off into the distance as if seeing something there just behind her princess. Perhaps looking for something or someone she couldn't quite make out in the distance.  
  
Then there were three who were a subgroup of their own, almost completely talking amongst themselves. The sandy blonde, the aqua-headed one, and the woman with dark green hair sat nearest each other and communicated in low-toned whispers, every now and again laughing quietly about something one had said. After a while, the entire group was talking to each other, having conversations with everyone at the table. There were no longer subsections, but casual conversations about random nothings taking place within the entire group. Queen Serenity smiled about every little thing from Rei's child having found a new seashell just last week, to Minako's child being a brain in his school. And when she smiled, everyone felt compelled to smile as well.  
  
At the corner of the table, sitting across from an empty chair, was Tomoe Hotaru, better known in the age of The New Silver Millennium as Sailor Saturn, not that anyone besides the ones at the table knew that. She smiled along with the rest of the group, her belly filling with the same laughter, her heart the same warmth as the rest of the Senshi, but she felt also uneasy. Her best and closest friend, Chibiusa, had only just come back from the past again, this time for good. She had no idea how she would react to the girl when she finally made an appearance to the table, and she wondered if whatever reaction she had might give her away to the rest of her friends. She sighed barely noticeably. Only three people in the room, Endymion, Serenity, and Setsuna, noticed the sound from her as she continued speaking with Minako about why she still wasn't married and that she hadn't really looked for anyone. Queen Serenity began to worry, but hid it well enough from everyone in the room.  
  
----------  
  
"Crystal-san," a bright pink-haired woman said to an older-looking female, "what do you think of mother's newest child?" The woman lowered her arms so that the sleeves of a gown could be placed onto her arms. She knew she was late, not that it mattered much anyway because she knew the dinner wouldn't start without her. It was, after all, a welcoming back party for her, with her friends having gathered together for it.  
  
"I think your little sister is a darling," replied the older woman with a gentle and motherly tone. "I think my grand daughter and your sister would get along well. She seems like a nice, loving child, playful, active, and outgoing, even when I try to make her stay inside."  
  
"She loves the sun," the pink-haired girl said. "I refuse to believe that she'll stay nearly as light-skinned as mother and I. She's going to come home sunburnt, I believe, maybe a tan like the one Setsuna-san wears."  
  
"Indeed." The woman chortled.  
  
A moment passed while the ruffling of the gown was heard. "Crystal-san..."  
  
The woman waited for a few seconds, then asked, "Yes, Princess?"  
  
Another few seconds left. "What do you think of... couples?"  
  
"Couples? Well, I always thought that love was one of the main themes of the human race. People getting together is natural in that regard. Why? Did you scout out someone when you were in the past?"  
  
"I suppose you could say that."  
  
"Ah. Well, the past is the past now, and you cannot return there again. You're back in the present, and that's all that matters at the moment. Besides, back then, there weren't many decent men."  
  
Another moment fluttered by. "What do you think of Haruka-san and Michiru-san? Do you... approve of them being a couple?"  
  
Crystal continued on with putting the finishing touches on the gown. "Well, I have to say that at first I thought they were going to come after me to join in their acts. But then I got used to them being around. Neither of them ever tried to hit it off with me. Both were friendlier than most, but then again, every one of your friends are. I hear they got good husbands, all of them. Well, all but those two, and Tomoe-san. Even Setsuna-san has found the time to get married."  
  
Chibiusa chuckled. 'No pun intended, I'll bet,' she thought to herself. "What do you think of people like them though?"  
  
It took Crystal a moment to answer. She was a bit confused. "Well, I don't really know. I suppose they're people just like you and me and, you know, have their chance at love too." She paused a bit, then continued. "Well, I suppose I don't really mind. But I really don't like the subject. I think it's a bit off of you to bring something like that up here at your welcoming reception. Besides, your mother won't let you go back to the past, nor let anyone from the past come here to the future. So, I don't think you'll ever see that young man again."  
  
Chibiusa stayed silent for the next few minutes. Crystal finished with the flowing white-gray gown with hints of purple hanging at the fringes. She had little nerve, but she resolved to go through with what she had planned to say to her friends. She rose to her feet and began walking toward the dining hall.  
  
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Someone whispered into the queen's ear. The queen listened and waited, then dismissed the person who had told her about her eldest daughter. The queen nodded after the person had left, then spoke. "Friends," she said regally, though with some hint of hesitation, "Chibiusa has some wonderful news to tell you later on this evening. I know she has been planning this since before she came back from her recent trip, and she is very eager to speak her mind."  
  
"Oh!" said an inebriated Minako. "Wonderful! News of Chibiusa-chan!" She raised her wine glass high and grinned. It was obvious that she was having a little too much fun.  
  
More nods came from Serenity. She wore a mask of happiness over her worry, covering it up so well that she even fooled the ones she loved into thinking none had ever existed and that the quiver in her voice when she had spoken was just something they misheard.  
  
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Chibiusa came down the crystal staircase and flowed into the dining hall like a waterfall, her long gown trailing behind her, purple flowing from the ends of the fabric, making it all that more colorful and pleasing to the eye. All eyes were cast upon her, then to each other. Nobody spoke. Each smiled gently, motherly, as they all thought of her as their own daughter, each having a hand in raising her.

Mizuno Ami gave Chibiusa a tutor when she needed one and gave slight nudges towards the field of medicine as a possible career choice. Hino Rei was helpful in training Chibiusa in the traditions, new and old, of the people of The Silver Millennium. Kino Makoto taught her how to be the most feminine that she possibly could be (while at the same time showing her how to be tough and strong like a man). Aino Minako had tried to profess how to go about loving somebody, but, as always, she was still a ditz and sometimes clueless. Chibiusa had never held it against her. To Meiou Setsuna, Chibiusa was her first friend, and later, a daughter in spirit, as she tried to teach duty while patiently guarding the Gates of Time. Tenou Haruka, like Makoto, had taught Chibiusa how to be tough, but also gentle. Kaiou Michiru had taught Chibiusa the fine arts, even thought Chibiusa adamantly declared she had absolutely no talent but still played the clarinet just fine. But to Tomoe Hotaru, Chibiusa was no daughter. She was something else entirely. She held her breath.  
  
"I am sorry for making you wait so long," Chibiusa said slowly and in a whisper.Her nerve was waning.  
  
"It was well worth the long wait," Hotaru said. Queen Serenity cast her eyes away from Chibiusa and onto Hotaru. Chibiusa looked at her mother and noticed whom she was staring at. Her resolve was fading. What if...?  
  
"We heard you had wonderful news to tell us, Chibiusa-chan!" Minako blurted out.  
  
Chibiusa laughed. "Minna," she started out at the end of her laugh, giving a happy note to the word, "I have something important to say, but I don't know how to say it, or even if I should. I am afraid. I am afraid to lose your friendships, afraid to lose your love and trust. I am afraid you won't understand, and that you'd give me strange looks whenever I walk near."  
  
Hotaru's heart thud loudly against the ribs in her chest. She had been waiting for that moment, for that one declaration to the entire world. She had wanted it so much, but she couldn't push Chibiusa at all into it or else risk spoiling it for her.  
  
"I..." She stared blankly at the faces. Each was eager to hear what she had to say. She held up a hand, closed-fisted, toward the group, palm up. The hand shook, but Chibiusa couldn't help it. Adrenaline rushed through her to no end. She opened the fist. A ring lay inside. The diamond shone like fire, every color imaginable emblazed against the crystal in the chamber. Every set of eyes except those of her parents went wider. Theirs were narrower at the sight.  
  
"You've gotten engaged!" shouted Makoto. "That's wonderful news indeed!" The group of people began talking again about whom Chibiusa would be engaged to. They guessed that perhaps it was Helios, or maybe someone she had met recently.  
  
Chibiusa steadied her hand.  
  
"So who is it?" asked Ami excitedly.  
  
"Yes," said Rei, "we all want to know who."  
  
The voices clamored to know to whom she was engaged. Chibiusa felt herself as a deer caught in headlights, still and motionless, afraid of what would eventually come and at the same time unable to get away. Finally, one voice rang louder in her ears than all the others. "Yes," the voice said.  
  
Every voice was blocked out except for that single one. The same word kept echoing throughout Chibiusa's head. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes..." She collapsed to her knees, still holding the ring on her outstretched hand. A moment she sat there, eyes wide as saucers, holding the ring in her hand. A moment passed like an eternity passes. "Put your hand on a hot stove for a second and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour and it seems like a second. That's relativity," once said Einstein. Chibiusa had put her hands on the stove for what seemed many hours.  
  
A moment arrived in which nothing existed but Chibiusa, the ring, and her beloved. Her beloved smiled and kept saying, "Yes." Everything around them was pure blank space. Chibiusa saw, as if in a daydream, her beloved rise from the seat and come to claim the ring.  
  
Chibiusa collapsed.


	2. To Collect One that Does not Belong to O...

Calethos Verilain Blacksworth  
"Second Pase- When Purple Clashes with Pink"  
Chapter 6: To Collect One that Does not Belong to Oneself  
Re-edited June 2nd, 2004  
  
Earlier-  
  
In a sudden burst of colored light, the Gates of Time swung open and admitted one exhausted lady and one tireless lady. One wore a sailor uniform colored in the standard of her planet, Pluto. The other wore a simple dress that did nothing to accent her already gorgeous features, but instead highlighted them well. Anyone would know from looking at her that she was a woman of great breeding, gentleness, and wealth. She stood next to the one called Sailor Pluto and wiped away the fatigue from her eyes. "Sailor Pluto?" she asked quietly, "is this another stop, or are we home yet?"  
  
"Home, Small Lady. I've brought you home."  
  
"Thank you," she said with a slight yawn.  
  
"You're welcome. Why don't you get some sleep," suggested the older woman.  
  
"Yeah. Sure."  
  
"Goodnight, Small Lady."  
  
"G'night, Setsuna-san." Too tired to notice the old nickname, Chibiusa walked toward the large gates of the castle that forebode anyone from entering into the courtyard and opened them slightly.  
  
She walked inside and they closed themselves behind her.  
  
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Chibiusa arrived to a quiet bedroom. It was covered in grays with dabs of pink around the edges. A large mirrored window opened up to her the outside world - a gray-white moon with a small city around the palace where she grew up - and allowed nobody to peek inside the bedroom at the young woman. She stared out over the city, across the vast gray-white plains and craters, and she looked toward the black. The Earth was to her right as she looked out, the sun to her left.   
  
Before she had gone into the past, the city seemed enough. The sands of Luna were beautiful, awe-inspiring. But every time she had gone and come back, Luna seemed to be more desolate. The city was the only one on its face, and it was only because of the Silver Crystal Palace that humans lived on any of the moon to begin with. Crystal Tokyo had once been a dream city, but the dream seemed empty, fulfilled and yet nothing about it seemed real. Crystal Tokyo seemed to have become lonely. If only there were other cities or towns, other places on Luna human beings could live. Science could have easily made it possible, but the Queen didn't want to scar the land any more than this.  
  
Perhaps, after the ceremony, Chibiusa would ask her mother to begin colonies so that the moon wouldn't seem so lonesome.  
  
----------  
  
Now-  
  
The woman wore an elegant gray-white gown with a tinge of purple at its fringes. It covered her like light covers the land in the morning, laying down itself where it can reach, and making shadows where it can't. She lay on the floor, passed out with anxiety and worry. She didn't know what to think or what to say, and her first reaction took away the freedom of choice that she had.  
  
Hotaru hovered over Chibiusa for a moment, then took the ring that lay set in the younger girl's hand like a priceless gem clutched by earth, and put it on her own ring finger. Her glove lie crumpled next to the young girl's form to make way for the ring. Hotaru put her hands under Chibiusa's body and picked her up. Though she did not look strong enough to pick up her goblet from the table, she held the younger girl with ease in the air. "I'll put her to bed," she announced. She looked toward the royal couple at the head of the table with mixed feelings, showing in her eyes. She was sad and proud, and they saw it. They nodded, worriedly, and Hotaru turned to take Chibiusa away.  
  
"Hotaru," called the Queen, "wait." Hotaru turned. She saw the Queen's eyes full of tears, just out of reach. A moment she waited with Chibiusa in her arms. "I'll talk to you later. About- about..." She choked. Hotaru bowed slightly over her burden. The Queen dismissed Hotaru and Chibiusa with a wave. Hotaru left the dining hall.  
  
------------  
  
Earlier than Now, but later the Earlier-  
  
A knock on her door is what woke Chibiusa up. She looked around for a moment, bleary-eyed, startled, and then wiped away the sleep. She noticed by the clock that it was daytime. The knock came again. "Who is it?" she called out to the door.  
  
"Crystal," came the answer. "I have been told to help you get ready for a party tonight. Your mother and father want to celebrate your homecoming."  
  
Chibiusa sighed. "Come in," she called. And in Crystal came.  
  
"What kind of dress would you like? It is to be an informal formal occasion." Crystal looked around the room and smiled. She touched what she could touch that didn't look too expensive. "You have fine tastes, Princess," she declared while the princess was in deliberation.  
  
"Why does my mother have to throw a party?" she asked.  
  
"She missed you, and this is her overly elaborate way of showing it." She sighed. Crystal wished her mother had been able to give her even a small birthday party when she was younger. "What kind of dress would you like?" she repeated.  
  
"Something that's doesn't 'enhance' my physical attributes," Chibiusa sighed. "Something dull," she said, "but with a small bit of flair," she added after a moment's thought.  
  
"I don't know of any dress that wouldn't enhance your beauty, Princess," claimed Crystal.  
  
With a suddenly serious tone, Chibiusa said firmly, "I want to hear the truth, Crystal-san, right now. I know that there is no dress that wouldn't be able to enhance my mother's beauty in some distinct way, but my body is different. I don't have the same beauty of my mother."  
  
Crystal looked around Chibiusa's face to see if there were any more comedies left on it anywhere. She found none. Instead, she found a serious young woman, something that had rarely been seen from even the Queen, and it suddenly frightened her how she must look to the princess' eyes. The face the princess made, though gentle in nature and touch, though it wasn't meant to frighten, scared Crystal. Chibiusa looked ready to act upon whatever instinct she had, and nobody would have been able to read the instinct from her face. "Princess," she said warily, "I honestly do not believe such a dress exists. I can look into some of the servants' personal collections, but I do not think there exists a dress that does not suit you."  
  
The momentary look of supreme seriousness dropped from Chibiusa's face. "Alright, then." Crystal inwardly sighed. "How about a simple gray dress?"  
  
"Gray, milady?"  
  
"Gray, like the moon is gray."  
  
"You said dull. I suppose gray would be a bit dull. But you also said a bit of flair as well." Crystal put a finger to the side of her head in thought. "How about it being gray-white, like an ashen bride?"  
  
"It seems too... complicated," she said after a moment. "A gray-white dress would be fine, Crystal-san. But I don't want to look like a bride."  
  
Crystal put down a stool and stood on it. She dropped down the end of a seamstress's measuring tape. "Hold that down with your little toe," she said. "If I am going to find this perfect dress for you, I must know your measurements. All your friends are going to be there. Tenou-san, Meiou-san, Hino-san, Kino-san, and Tomoe-san. They'll all be there, along with..." Chibiusa didn't hear the rest.  
  
"Loose fitting, with no wires or bust. I don't need all the extras. Something simple will do," she said quietly. She held down the end of the tape. "With a purple fringe, if possible," she said as an afterthought.  
  
"That sounds nice," Crystal said absentmindedly. She crawled off the stool and took the other measurements around Chibiusa's body. She finished. "I'll be back in a few hours with your dress, Princess."  
  
"Thank you, Crystal-san."  
  
"You're very welcome. I'll have breakfast sent to you straight away."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Crystal opened the door. She picked up a pot on the table next to the door. "Very fine taste indeed," she said while turning it around and over. She put the pot down and left the room.  
  
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Hotaru opened the door to Chibiusa's room. She almost gasped, but she realized that if she had, she might have dropped her precious cargo. She walked to Chibiusa's bed and lay her down. She closed the door to Chibiusa's room to give them some privacy. Hotaru went back to the bed and sat down next to Chibiusa's sleeping form. For a moment, Hotaru sat staring at Chibiusa, noticing the  
  
peacefulness of her slumber as she barely breathed in, at how her skin showed goose bumps because of the coolness of the bedroom. She stood and took in all of the young woman's appearance. The dress made her look stunning, more stunning that she ever could have imagined. But it was made of a thin material, and it made her look cold. Hotaru frowned.  
  
She looked toward the door, and then back at Chibiusa. She looked around the ceiling for what might have been recording devices that look in on the Princess while she slept. She found none. She walked to the dresser and opened a drawer, and then another drawer, and then another in an attempt to find a nightgown. Once Hotaru found one, she brought it back to Chibiusa's bed and undressed her. She pulled slowly Chibiusa's arms out of the puffy shoulder-sleeves, and then pulled the dress slowly above the younger's head. Chibiusa lay clad in panties and bra, shivering.  
  
Hotaru moved much more quickly as she noticed that Chibiusa had winced. She slipped the thick nightgown onto the young woman's body and noticed the shiver lessen. She pulled slightly the large comforter back from Chibiusa's bed, trying to get Chibiusa from on top of it without waking her. A squeak came from the pink-haired young woman which made Hotaru stop, but then she noticed the princess was still asleep and continued.  
  
Finally, the covers were put over Chibiusa. Hotaru stepped away and took in her handiwork. She nodded and grabbed the dress. Walking away, she smiled to herself. She had a good feeling about them, and put the dress on the dresser. She closed the drawers and moved to the other side of the room to exit. She turned toward Chibiusa's gracefully sleeping face and blew a kiss. After, Hotaru turned and opened the door of the bedroom. She stepped outside and closed the door.  
  
Hotaru's hand went to her heart, where she could feel the drumming of it in her chest, beating out bass rapid-fire. She collapsed by Chibiusa's door, feeling her own heartbeat. "I need to start working out," she said exhaustedly.  
  
A troop of girls came toward Chibiusa's bedroom. Hotaru noticed them as they turned the corner. It was the four Inner Solar System Sailor Senshi that had protected the Queen so long ago. They saw Hotaru sitting at Chibiusa's door almost panting. Hotaru rose. "Hotaru-chan," asked Ami, "What's going on?"  
  
"I put Usa-chan to bed." Hotaru walked to the four girls. "Is there anything wrong?"  
  
"Usa-chan?" came Rei.  
  
"Why are you wearing her ring?" asked Makoto.  
  
"We are engaged. That is why."  
  
"What?" yelled Makoto.  
  
"Be quiet!" Hotaru whispered loudly. "I just put her to bed. She doesn't need to be woken up over this."  
  
"How could you?"  
  
"This is what she was afraid of. She was afraid you would be angry with her. And now I know you are." The four hung their heads.  
  
"It's not that," said Ami, "it's just that it's so unexpected. I thought... But what about Helios?"  
  
"They were and still are very good friends," Hotaru answered. She was ready for whatever line of questioning they could give.  
  
"Are you going to protect her?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Are you willing to give your life for her?"  
  
"Absolutely."  
  
"When's the wedding?" chirped Minako soberly.  
  
"I don't know yet. We'll figure that out later," Hotaru said. "You guys are starting to act like a bunch of reporters. Are you planning on selling any of this to the media?"  
  
"Hell no!" said Rei quickly.  
  
Hotaru suggested they move the group somewhere else so they wouldn't disturb Chibiusa.  
  
A few moments later a ship appeared outside Chibiusa's window. It destroyed the mirrored glass. People inside took the Princess of The White Moon Kingdom of Luna. Sailor Saturn could be seen screaming with four girls dragging her back inside the Princess' room with the air leaking out. 


End file.
